Burnt Road: Dante

by Neal, Toby

  His command sent a wave of heat through her as she opened her thighs.

  “Wider.”

  She spread herself for him, and fresh air drafted up her body. Melody felt open and vulnerable. But safe.

  “Now touch your breasts.”

  Melody placed cold hands against hot skin, pulling at her nipples, circling them, and gasping with pleasure. The way he was looking at her made her burn.

  “Touch yourself.” Melody panted. “I love to see that.”

  “This time I’m telling you how it is.” He smiled as he settled himself between her thighs, his arms hooking under her knees. “You can be the boss next time.” Dante’s breath caressed her stomach as he lowered himself down. His tongue landed hot and hard against her bundle of nerves.

  Melody arched off the ground and cried out at the rough pleasure. “Oh! Dante!”

  He wasn’t being sweet or soft or cautious, he was devouring her. She clenched her thighs around him as he added a finger to his assault. “Oh God.”

  Dante pushed her thighs apart, forcing her open, then he flicked her, fast and hard. Melody came apart under him, for him, disappearing, and shattering into a billion individual cells, pleasure that radiated into infinity.

  When she settled back into her body, Dante was at her entrance, his face above hers, his lush curls creating a curtain from the world around them. Melody reached up and held his face, pulling him down for a delicious kiss of sugar and spice.

  He slid deep into her slick heat, filling and tightening her. He groaned into her mouth and the sound sent fresh shivers of pleasure radiating through her.

  Fully sheathed, Dante looked down at her. “You were right. You chased the memories away.”

  Melody grinned. “Good. Now screw me like the world is ending.”

  Dante grasped her hips and pulled out, surging back in, sliding her up on the blankets with the force of it. All his muscles bunched in sharp relief as he thrust over and over again, his eyes closed, mouth set, everything about him fierce and driving, a rough and total branding.

  He was a warrior angel come to earth to make her his, and take her to heaven.

  The climax building in Melody threatened to destroy her. But maybe it was time to be destroyed.

  He grabbed her ankles, pulling them up to fold her legs beneath his shoulders, assertive and hungry as he made her wide open to him. Dante knew what he was doing.

  He opened his molten gold eyes and held her gaze.

  The gift of his gaze pushed Melody over the edge and released her. She let Dante have her completely, reveling in his strength, his love and his hunger. She was obliterated and reborn, and it was glorious. “Dante!” tore from her throat as her orgasm pulsed through her.

  Dante cried out her name. He fell over her, his chest heaving, and his body shuddering as his arms wrapped her close.

  Melody slid her legs down and hooked her ankles at his lower back, kissing his shoulder.

  He’d destroyed her for any life but one with him.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Melody

  Melody, Dante and Paul fell into an easy and comfortable routine as they navigated toward the Haven. Waking at dawn, Melody made coffee and Paul cooked whatever meat they had on hand, while Dante tended to the horses. They rode all day, breaking for lunch and to water the horses, and camping each night, all three around the fire, the puppies cuddled close to Paul who had become their obvious favorite.

  The pace was gentle, calm and quiet. They avoided towns, boiled water from fresh streams and ate by foraging plants and hunting.

  If Melody’s calculations were right, they’d finally reach the Haven the next day.

  “It’s nice,” Paul pulled a berry off a bush, offering it to Melody.

  The small red morsel tasted bittersweet. Melody liked it. “Mm, yummy. What’s nice?”

  “That what my father taught me is helping, and I can pass it on to you.” He stared through the foliage. They’d reached thick forest bursting with late summer abundance. The horses munched on long grasses next to the stream where Dante was starting a fire.

  “You would have liked my Dad.” Paul looked over at Melody, his cheeks glowing pink from the chill in the early evening air.

  “I’m sure I would have.” Melody plucked more berries off the bush.

  Paul cleared his throat and when Melody turned to look at him, he was staring down at his feet. “They would have been happy to know I was with you.” He looked up, and there were tears in his eyes. “Do you think they know?”

  Melody nodded. “I’m sure they do.”

  “So, you believe in heaven?”

  Melody’s gaze fell on the diamond patterns of light filtering through the leaves. “I’m not sure what it’s like.” She looked at Paul, holding his gaze. “We’re all the same, you know.” She gestured around the forest. “All matter is just vibrating atoms. And matter never disappears, it just changes form.”

  Paul nodded. “We learned that in school. But what about souls?”

  “That’s the big question I guess, what happens to our consciousness after death. I’m not sure anyone knows, but I don’t think anyone is ever really gone. Part of us stays with the ones we love.”

  Paul looked over at Bella. “I think maybe my mom sent Bella to me.”

  “I can see that.”

  Paul started picking berries again.

  “You know both Dante and I lost our fathers.” Paul nodded. They’d told him around the fire one night, taken turns sharing their loss with the boy. It seemed to have helped, knowing that they could understand his pain. “Well, maybe our fathers sent you to us.”

  Paul’s head jerked up, his eyes bright.

  “Because…” Melody continued. “You’ve really helped us a lot.”

  Paul surprised Melody with a hard hug, wrapping himself around her, pinning her arms to her sides, and resting his head on her shoulder. The smell of him—horse, forest and kid—filled Melody’s senses. She pressed her cheek against his hair, breathing him in. He was hers, just as much as Dante was.

  Paul stepped back, his cheeks red, and returned his attention to the bush of berries. Melody smiled and did the same.

  * * *

  They arrived at the Haven the next afternoon. “They may not recognize you with that beard,” Melody joked. Dante’s jaw was covered in thick, soft black whiskers. She loved nuzzling it. Sweetie loved it, too. The mare was always trying to rub her muzzle into it as Dante removed her bridle.

  “They will recognize me.” Dante was easy in his saddle, his hat pushed back as the sun warmed their backs. He turned to Paul. “My mom is going to love you. She raised six boys pretty much on her own.”

  Paul nodded, his face pale.

  “What is it?” Dante leaned toward him.

  “Nothing.”

  “You will stay, won’t you?” Melody’s voice was high with anxiety. They had not talked about Paul’s plans since first asking for his help.

  “I guess. If you want me too.”

  “Oh please!” Melody exclaimed. “What would we do without you?”

  “I don’t know.” Paul scratched under his hat. “You’ve got your family.”

  “No, I don’t.” Melody corrected him. “I need you. Please stay.”

  “Yes, I would miss you, too.” Dante’s voice was that deep baritone that Melody had come to recognize as the tone he used when exposing a deep truth about his feelings, and it made her body heat with desire for him.

  This guy.

  “Okay,” Paul looked up at Dante, his eyes shining. “We’ll be a family then.”

  “Thank goodness.” Melody grinned. “I thought we already were.”

  “Race you.” Paul spurred Bella forward, and Dante laughed as he and Sweetie gave chase.

  Melody and Beauty brought up the rear, but with Beauty’s long legs and thoroughbred ancestry, he quickly caught up, galloping past them.

  Melody leaned over his neck, laughing as she passed the boys. She fisted B
eauty’s mane to steady her seat as they galloped up the dirt road leading to the Haven, a place she’d thought of over the last month so much that to be here felt unreal, like a movie with a happy ending.

  Tall, snow-capped mountains surrounded the vast acreage, though a high cement wall kept Melody from seeing the land inside. A large metal gate with a call box beckoned her and Beauty. The thundering of Bella and Sweetie right behind them urged them forward faster and faster.

  They skidded to a halt at the gate, and Beauty turned sharply on his back legs, rearing up a little as he faced the other horses, snorting with pride. “No fair,” Paul yelled as he slowed to a trot, Dante and Sweetie coming in third.

  “I can’t help it that I’ve got the fastest horse.” Melody laughed again, happiness spilling out of her.

  Dante watched her with gleaming eyes from under the brim of his hat. She recognized that look, and heat pooled in her belly.

  She leaned over and pressed the buzzer as Dante rode close, his gaze on her.

  “What do you want?” A male voice came through the speaker.

  Dante edged her out of the way on Sweetie. He took off his hat and leaned over in front of the camera. “JT, it’s me. I’ve got a beard.”

  “Dante!” The gate began to roll aside with a rumble.

  Beauty backed up, snorting with alarm. “Shh, it’s okay, boy. We’re home.” Whatever came next, Melody felt the truth of it in her soul.

  They trotted up the drive, passing through a second gate before entering the main compound. Then they rode up a long dirt drive that wound between fields in mid-harvest, heading toward a log cabin at the top of the property.

  A woman with long dark hair streaked with silver and swept into a bun came running out of a patch of tomatoes. She wore faded jeans covered in dark soil and a shirt that read Hug the Cook.

  “Dante!” Her voice was thick with emotion, her hazel eyes swimming with tears. “My littlest boy!”

  Little? Dante was hardly little, but clearly, to his mom, he always would be. Dante pulled Sweetie to a halt and dismounted, dropping his reins. His short, curvy mom threw herself at him and he caught her, picking her up in his arms. Melody’s throat closed, witnessing their reunion.

  “Mama.” He kissed her on both cheeks and spun her around in a tight hug.

  Tears streaked down Mrs. Luciano’s face as she squeezed him back. “My boy, oh, my baby boy.”

  Dante’s face was wet as well.

  Dante put his mother down and she grabbed his face, touching his thick beard. “My God, you look so much like your father with this beard. Oh, sorry!” She dropped her hands, looking away, but Dante caught them, bringing them back to his cheeks.

  “It’s okay, Ma, I don’t mind it now. Touching.”

  “You don’t?” Her voice was awed and fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. “And you’re looking at me, son. Right in the eyes.”

  “This is Melody, my girlfriend.” He gestured to Melody. “She has…helped me. Melody, this is my mom, Ana.”

  The woman’s hazel eyes took her in, assessing, as Melody dismounted and approached.

  “Hi. I’m so glad to be here.”

  “Oh my goodness.” Ana grabbed Melody and hugged her, kissing her cheeks briskly. “I’m so glad Dante found you. I can see he’s really changed because of you.” She smiled. “I’m so happy to see him with a girl; he’s been a late bloomer.”

  “She’s my love.” Dante pulled Melody in close with an arm.

  Ana’s eyes dropped to Melody’s finger. “You’re engaged?” Her voice rose with excited surprise.

  “If she’ll have me. I was afraid to ask before.” Dante’s voice fell into that deep baritone as he turned to face Melody. “Will you marry me—be my Uhura—always?”

  Melody laughed. “Yes, Dante, oh my God, yes. I love you so much.”

  Dante wrapped her close, and Melody linked her hands behind his neck as he pressed his lips tightly to hers. She giggled against his mouth and detached herself, rubbing her flushed cheeks.

  “Glad we cleared that up! I thought we already were engaged!”

  Dante laughed and kissed her forehead, and Melody turned to Ana who held her arms out.

  “I’m so happy.” Ana embraced Melody.

  “You both do that.” Dante was watching them.

  “Do what?” Ana turned to her son, keeping an arm around Melody’s waist.

  “Laugh and cry when you’re happy.”

  “That’s very observant, son.” Ana’s voice held a wondering quality as she stared at Dante.

  Melody leaned into the older woman, smelling vine-ripened tomatoes, freshly turned soil, and the sweet scent of onions sautéed in butter. Her heart opened just a little more at the scents. This was what home smelled like.

  Paul had been busying himself loosening the horses’ tack. His hat was pulled low as he petted Bella’s neck. Dante turned to the boy. “Ma, this is our friend, Paul.” Ana gasped quietly at hearing her deceased husband’s name. “He helped us get here.” Paul looked up at Dante, his dark eyes gleaming with happy admiration. “He’s a great hunter and kept food in our bellies.” Paul ducked his head in embarrassment.

  “Welcome to the Haven.” Ana stepped away from Melody. “Get over here and give me a hug.”

  Paul smiled and did as Ana commanded. Melody got the feeling that most people did.

  Screaming turned all their attention up the drive. A blonde woman was running down the road from the house. She looked just like Elizabeth.

  It was Elizabeth!

  Melody sobbed as she ran toward her best friend. They met on the road, embracing.

  “You’re here!” Elizabeth sobbed. “You’re really here, at last!”

  “Me?” Melody laughed through her tears. “You’re here! You’re supposed to be in Washington.”

  “Plans changed. I fell in love.”

  Melody pulled back to see her friend’s face. Elizabeth was grinning, her blue eyes bright, and her lips plump, like she’d just been doing some serious kissing.

  Melody raised a brow. “Well, thanks for sending Dante to me. He’s seriously amazing.”

  “So is JT!” Elizabeth laughed and hugged her again. “We’re engaged!”

  “Oh my God, I’m engaged too! Dante and I fell in love!” They started jumping up and down, still embracing. “Double wedding!” Melody laughed.

  “For two women who never planned to marry, we really changed our tune,” Elizabeth laughed as they separated. “Apparently, we just needed to meet the Luciano brothers!”

  “A lot has changed.” Melody’s voice lowered, her happiness dampening as the ravages of the plague filled her mind’s eye. “Not all of it good.”

  Elizabeth nodded and squeezed Melody’s arms. “At least we’re together. Not all of us, though. It’s so sad, so many lost. I was there when we buried Nando.” Elizabeth’s voice was thick with emotion.

  Dante came up beside Melody, and she grabbed his arm as his handsome face drained of color. “What? What did you say?” he whispered.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Dante

  Melody’s hand on his arm and her warm strong body beside him were the only thing holding Dante up, but a moment later his mother enfolded him in her arms. “Oh Dante, we’ve lost Nando!”

  A moment later JT hit the two of them like a linebacker, wrapping his long arms and great height around them in a huge embrace. “I’m so sorry you had to find out this way, bro. It’s been a rough time.”

  Dante nodded, choked with emotion and smothered by all the touching. He loved being in the heart of his family, of all that emotion. But it also stressed him on a deep level, and he felt immediate relief as Melody insinuated herself into the group hug next to him. Her familiar sweet scent calmed his nerves immediately as her body pressed his from one side, his mother’s from the other, and JT around them all.

  Nando, always full of laughter and fun and good smells. He’d never respected Dante’s physical avoidance but overcame it w
ith rough, lengthy hugs, head rubs, back scratches and smacking kisses on Dante’s cheeks. “You gotta relax, bro, and just let love happen,” he’d told Dante one time, refusing to let him go from one of those embraces.

  The memory brought fresh tears.

  Dante let love happen, sagging into the arms all around him.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Melody

  That night, before dinner, Ana pulled Melody aside and led her out to the porch just off the kitchen. The sun, behind the mountains, threw streaks of fuchsia and peach across a darkening sky. Ana looked into Melody’s eyes. “I just wanted to thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Dante is—he is so much better.” Ana’s hazel eyes were red-rimmed from all the crying they’d done that day. “His autism symptoms.” Ana swallowed, pulling herself together. “He hugged me.” Her chin wobbled and tears started rolling down her cheeks. “He hugged everyone. He looks us in the eyes.”

  Melody took Ana’s hands. “He really did it himself. He’s my Superman.”

  Ana choked on a sob. “He is lucky to have you.”

  “We’re lucky to have each other.”

  Ana nodded and turned, looking through the window to where Paul and Dante sat at the kitchen table peeling potatoes together. “What about that boy, Paul?”

  “He lost his parents. We saw it happen.”

  Ana nodded. “So sad.”

  “Yes. But, we made it. We’re his family, now.”

  Ana turned back to her. “You’re a fine woman, Melody Parker.”

  Melody laughed. “That means a lot coming from the woman who rules this house.”

  Ana giggled, sounding younger than the silver in her hair indicated. “Well, someone’s got to do it, or things would go to hell in a handbasket. We’d better get back inside.” Ana watched JT as he came up behind Elizabeth, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing the top of her head. “Those two are liable to shirk their duties to run off and make whoopee if I don’t keep an eye on them.”

  Melody laughed as Ana stepped back into the house.